I sometimes get asked how it "feels to be lean" or hear remarks like "it must be awesome to be lean all the time".

I reply that I feel great and that being lean feels great. But that's not the whole truth.

People with a remote interest in fitness and health usually aspire to get lean and maintain that condition. They may also assume that reaching a satisfactory or awe-inspiring condition will elevate their lives to a new level. Much like people assume that winning the lottery will make their lives indefinitely better in just about every aspect.

In striving towards this goal, some people have an ideal body weight in mind. Others may have a mental image of their physique or an arbitrary body fat percentage in mind. Goals may vary a lot but expectations do not. Once the goal is reached, everything will be great.

I was only slightly different than the Average Joe in this regard. The difference being that I had been fairly lean for a good while. Most people would probably settle for that perfectly respectable condition. So while I didn't expect my life to improve much once I reached my ultimate goal, the goal was more like an itch that needed to be scratched until it went away. And once the itch was gone, I think I expected that it would elevate me to new heights in some vague undefined ways.

I reached my goal a few days before Christmas 2007. It was a great anticlimax.

The anticlimax

I was content and proud of myself for the fact that I finally conquered the goal I've had for several years. That I had reached a condition that I would be perfectly content to maintain rather than to seek constant improvement.

I decided this was good enough.

But the experience was disappointing in many ways. Is this it? It left me with a sense of a void inside myself. After all, I had invested a fair amount of energy in this over the years. Mental energy first and foremost. Having had to master thoughts of doubt (Am I really losing body fat? Should I be cutting calories further?). Spending time thinking about how to tackle social events without affecting progress negatively. At times having to exert restraint when cravings came.

In the final weeks maintaining the diet was not an issue. Intermittent fasting made it a breeze relatively speaking. But I was still plagued with doubt and worried whether I would reach my goal before Christmas. I was adamant in reaching my goal before Christmas, since I wanted to switch to maintenance before the ensuing food fest on Christmas Eve. Trust me, ending a diet on a holiday such as Christmas is a bad idea.

The secret benefit of being lean

It wasn't until after a few weeks that it dawned upon me what the real benefit of being lean is. That is, lean enough for you to be completely content and happy about your physical condition.

Are you ready? Because I'm about to reveal to you something that is rarely talked about. Something few people might not understand before they've been through the same experience.

The secret benefit of being lean is that it's an immense time saver.

Be honest with yourself: if you're on a diet, you spend a fair amount of time thinking about it. Being perfectly content saves up an astounding amount of mental energy. Gone are the worries, doubts and obsessions about diet, weight and all other issues pertaining to reaching your goal. The itch is gone. No need to scratch it anymore.

But that void needs to be filled with something. You will suddenly rediscover new interests and hobbies - I did. Don't fill the void with more training*. Fill it with reading, family, friends or whatever you like. Learn to be content once your ultimate goal is reached. Set new goals**, but learn to accept slower, gradual progress.

* Guys have a tendency to fill the void with more training in order to pack on more muscle once they consider themselves done dieting. If they're not dieting, they're training themselves into the ground. Yes, I used to be that guy a long time ago.

** I set a few new goals related to relative strength. Progress in relative strength is in my opinion the best measure of lean muscle gain while maintaining low body fat.

What's the lesson here?

After my experience, I tend to view fitness related goals as means to self-improvement, not happiness. Setting goals and conquering them leads to a sense of achievement and it teaches you things about yourself. If your "itch" is to achieve and maintain an extraordinary physique, getting there will make you a better person. But not for the reasons you might initially think. If the goal is of particular importance to you, as it was for me, it frees up an immense amount of time once the goal is reached - time that can be spent on improving yourself in other areas of life.

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comments:

Congratulations first off. I too have this 'itch' that you speak of. I really want to get to a condition like you (somewhere from 5-8%) and maintain it while I make steady strength gains.

My only concern is that it will somehow not be 'optimal' based on hormones and what not, so I constantly feel like I have to deprive myself of maintaining this level of leanness until I have reached my full size potential.

Should I see for myself if I can handle such gains at a lower body fat? I am tempted seeing how successful you have been at maintaining a lower body fat AND still making gains.

Martin-You have posted on your "bulking" cycle before-going from 6 to 9% body fat and gaining about 20 lbs. While I suppose maintaining an ultra lean physique and putting on muscle is possible, I think it is very difficult and unlikely for many people. Would you say much of your muscle was built during bulking cycles? Wouldn't it be better for MJR to "lean out", trying to maintain muscle, then go on a higher calorie diet (while still doing IF) to more easily increase muscle mass? Wouldn't doing these bulking and leaning cycles (likely something our ancestors did naturally) be a great way to challenge yourself and continue to progress even after reaching your goal?

'Wouldn't it be better for MJR to "lean out", trying to maintain muscle, then go on a higher calorie diet (while still doing IF) to more easily increase muscle mass?'

Sure, that's a very valid approach too. Whether it's better or not depends on personal preferences and training status.

'Wouldn't doing these bulking and leaning cycles (likely something our ancestors did naturally) be a great way to challenge yourself and continue to progress even after reaching your goal?'

Yes, but bulking in the traditional sense will yield diminishing results once you've reached an advanced stage in your development. For beginners and intermediate trainees, I'm all for choosing to focus on muscle gaining specifically (rather than trying to lose fat and build muscle simultaneously), but I think the rate of gain needs to be slower than the generic figures that gets thrown around. Rather than gaining 1 lbs per week, 1 lb per every second or third week is more appropriate.

Thanks for the response. I really enjoy your site and am enjoying IF (yes, I tend to find satisfaction in not eating instead of eating little amounts). I'm looking forward to your book (paper or ebook?).

Congrats once again. You certainly walk your talk and it's amazing to see the proof. Knowing where I am and seeing how dedicated and displine you are and in order for someone like me to get to that mid single digit fat % seems like a life's milestone. I know this does'nt happen over night.

However, I saw one study that being moderately fat(%?)is bit more healthier than being too lean when it comes to sickness due to colds and other influenza. Have you found anything on this???

Martin,I didn't expect an article like this from you, but it was a fresh breeze and a good change from your normal subject material. And I'm very grateful for this.

Because just this spring break, I could not stop myself from a binge that took me from 163 to 177 lbs. I lost it when I returned home and was quite irritated with the fact that my parents wanted me to eat their cooking because I looked "emaciated" since the last time I saw them. And I gave in.

I don't think you'll ever realize how much this post has empowered me and encouraged me to put this (rather significant) setback behind me, remain stoic, and start again.

'However, I saw one study that being moderately fat(%?)is bit more healthier than being too lean when it comes to sickness due to colds and other influenza. Have you found anything on this???'

No. You might be confusing underweight and too lean. There's a difference (being underweight is correlated with greater frequency of sickness and disease). If this was reported by the mainstream media I could also see how they might have failed to make the distinction.

You may very well not want to answer this, but if you don't mind: how old are you?

And, following on that, to what age is it reasonable that one could expect to get or stay in the sort of condition you're in? (Yes, I know that genetics must certainly play a roll, but I'm just looking for a ballpark, even if it's just an educated guess.)

This post definitely resonated with me, and I agree with your insight 100-percent. Although in my case (and I suspect there are others with the same stumbling blocks), I find that the mental process of analyzing, or in my case sometimes over-analyzing, and constantly making adjustments as necessary becomes the "default" setting so to speak. It's recognizing that I need to let the mind go on auto-pilot a bit more and redirect my focus and yet feeling almost compelled to continue on processing things in the same way.

While I'm certain a psychiatrist would have a field day analyzing why I do this, I find that after having spent many years focusing on training, nutrition, and all things related that even when I tell myself it's time to go out and strive for more balance that there's this undercurrent of resistance. In theory it should be as simple as recognizing how I approach things, making the necessary adjustments (uh oh, sounds almost like the process I was talking about, hah, hah), and then getting back to "just living my life and enjoying a wide variety of thing.

Even my reading choices often reflect that bias towards training and nutrition, which is probably sad considering that at some point you know more than you need to maintain where you're at, so piling on is almost silly.

Hopefully in time I can flip that mental switch and allow balance and variety to come more naturally, but for now I seem to be (at least to some extent) held captive by the very things that enabled me to achieve my goals in the first place. Of course I may just be tweaked in the head more than most, in which case this all applies to nobody other than myself.

In any event, thanks for letting me ramble and share some of my thoughts. And thank you for sharing your insight.

'Hopefully in time I can flip that mental switch and allow balance and variety to come more naturally, but for now I seem to be (at least to some extent) held captive by the very things that enabled me to achieve my goals in the first place.'

I know what you mean. This takes time. Took a decade for me. I'm still mindful of the food I eat, but the thought-pattern is different. I have a very flexible system that have helped me in this regard. But that's another article.

Assuming you're a guy with fairly normal body constitution in the 175-225 lbs range or so (i.e it might not be applicable to very short guys which tend to pack a big bench and squat relative to body weight early in their lifting career).

Brilliant post. You're so right about this dieting stuff taking up sooo much mental energy....what a relief it must be to be done with it. Not to mention MAINTAINING that condition. Just wow. Thanks for being a huge inspiration Martin.

I am so glad I found this site. It's such an inspiration to see someone my height who was a former fat kid like myself to be in such excellent condition. The fact that you can maintain body fat levels that low and stay sane has convinced me that it's completely possible.

This article really hits home for me. I'll be 35 this year and I have yet to hit the goal of sub 10% bodyfat. I've never thought about "winning the game", I've been playing so long...and screwed up so many times I've lost count.

I've started an IF protocol based on your general guidelines, switched my routine to 3 days a week instead of 5, and now focus on getting stronger in compound lifts. As soon as I stop seing results I'll get in line for a personal consultation to refine what I'm doing. I'll definitely buy the book when it's ready!

Depends on your training status. For an advanced trainee, it would likely be no less than 2 lbs for sure.

For the advanced a 1:5-7.5 weight:strength-gain ratio for squats and deads is extremely impressive.

If you're at an advanced level and gain 2 lbs body weight, while increasing squats and deads by 15 lbs, your gains would likely be completely lean assuming you didn't do anything to radically improve your technique.

Haha, awesome post Martin. Most people worry WAY too much about nutrition/routines etc and really, beyond your genetics, there REALLY isn't much that you can improve once you already know what you're doing. In fact, being satisfied but improving is the best place to be, because then it is just automatic and you don't care as much - it's the whole marshmallow test thing.

You're prolly the only blog i read, perhaps for obvious reasons(mass free information, good updates etc) but you are genuinely honest about your practices and (LOLEMO) feelings on the matter. Good reads.

'Do you personally take creatine, and when taking it should I cycle it or should I just keep on taking it every day for the rest of my life'

No.

As for creatine cycling, there's no hard and conclusive evidence that it loses it's efficacy over time. However, a review from 2003, stated that

"Recent findings in healthy humans indicate that the beneficial effect on muscle function and muscle total creatine content may disappear when creatine is continuously ingested for more than two or three months. The mechanism for this habituation to chronic creatine exposure is poorly understood. "

Which supposedly formed the basis for the common advice to cycle it 2 months on/1 month off. Roll with that.

'I am 1,65m / 5'5'' and built for squatting. How would you alter your poundage estimates for an advanced stage?'

That's hard to say and depends on how lean your gains are, but it would be at least 1:5 weight:strength, I think. One of my clients gained 1:7 at the latest evaluation (from 150 kg x 5 to 167.5 kg x 5/ 2.4 kg weight gain) and he's built for squatting and benching.

Hey Martin,Great stuff as always, I've been a follower of yours for while and respect your opinion as you have gotten yourself and multiple client very lean.

One of the positions that Paleo purists have is that when leaning out is the main goal, you want to minimize any insulin spikes by avoiding dairy, higher GI foods, and liquid food. I know that you advocate cottage cheese for the last meal of day due to it's digestion time and that you discourage liquid food because of it's smaller effect on satiety. The one area that usually isn't part of the same Paleo discussion is around calories.

In your experience do you find that as long as a calorie deficit is maintained, that consuming: dairy products, some higher GI foods but still nutrient dense foods(sweet potato and maybe brown rice(?), particularly after training through mini-refeeds), or artificial sweeteners do not have a negative effect on fat loss?

Similar to some peoples thoughts on fructose in fruit, I think some may be going a little overboard with food quality instead of focusing on food quantity. While I hear the argument that dairy has multiple growth promoting factors to it beyond a high insulin spike, I think some plain yogurt or some milk could be fine.

I agree that whole food should make up most of the diet, but I think the definition shouldn't have to be so narrow. Any input would be appreciated as I'm trying to be objective with what some advise.

Might I suggest you write more blogs of this kind that highlight the psychological aspects of fitness. It is a topic rarely explored, even in the blog world. This would really help to motivate people - and thats another topic not touched enough. People say they dont have time to work out. What they really mean is they are not inspired enough. Help inspire us, please!!

Hey Martin I got another question that you may or may not be willing to answer since you might want to save it for your book, but what exactly happens during the 16 hours that you do not eat? Does your body do something magical so that you cannot gain fat, or what is it? Thanks

'In your experience do you find that as long as a calorie deficit is maintained, that consuming: dairy products, some higher GI foods but still nutrient dense foods(sweet potato and maybe brown rice(?), particularly after training through mini-refeeds), or artificial sweeteners do not have a negative effect on fat loss?'

Yes.

'Similar to some peoples thoughts on fructose in fruit, I think some may be going a little overboard with food quality instead of focusing on food quantity. '

Yes, most certainly, and in some circles, "a little overboard" is a vast understatement.

'Hey Martin I got another question that you may or may not be willing to answer since you might want to save it for your book, but what exactly happens during the 16 hours that you do not eat?'

This is covered in any decent textbook on human metabolism or nutrition. But, in short, there's a metabolic shift from burning glucose (carbs) to burning fat. This shift is mediated via insulin which is much lower in the fasted vs fed state.

Thanks for the reply Martin. This makes things much more clear as I work towards leaning out.

So following up, I tend to stay in a calorie deficit on most days due to a limited workout regime (not much need for re-feeds because I don't get a chance to workout hard more than twice a week). Knowing your preference for protein in all diets and especially when calories and/or carbs are restricted, would you agree that it would be better to have some protein powder instead of eating less protein from whole foods only? For example, I took in about 1,500 calories yesterday and only about 115 grams of protein (120g of carbs and 55g of fat made of up the rest). As I weigh about 210, I think it would be beneficial to add in 50g of protein through a 300 calorie shake instead of having the larger calorie deficit. Satiety during the fast has not been an issue.

Thanks for your help Martin. I want to lose some weight first and then I plan on working with you once I hit a wall.

Hey Martin,I apologize that I wasn't more clear. I didn't mean to say that it's one or the other, I only said that because many times I find myself with not enough time to make whole food but there is 2 minutes to blend a shake before going out the door.

I agree that 115g of protein is very low and that is exactly why I would look to increase it. Ideally I wouldn't have a shake everyday but to get over 200 grams, I might need it. So, I agree that whole food is definitely preferred but my only point is that if needed, more protein from a shake is better than no extra protein at all. Some days I am just not able to prepare over 20 oz of meat. It's easy to get enough carbs and fat, but protein can get tough.

I don't want to come off as complaining, rather I'm just trying to figure out the best things to do given the circumstances. I'd imagine others might be in the same boat.

Great post. I always find that after an intense training cycle, it's a bit of a let down for sure. While it feels great to hit my goals, the feeling of "where do I go from here" can be over whelming.

That said, if you can embrace what you've accomplished, it certainly is a lot easier to maintain a great physique than build one form scratch again. I've found that I can maintain my body with about 1/2 of the effort and work that it took me to get there in the first place.

Im not lean, but Im working to get there. But I already realized that getting a "great looking" body is pretty much like getting a new flat screen tv. Not much more. Its just another thing that you own and that you like. But true happiness and fulfillment comes from within, not by changing anything outside of you. Including your body. And that is pretty much how I view, I doubt I will feel different in any way after I reach my goal. But I will be healthy and live longer, and that is more time to enjoy the much more important things in life.

I love the site. I was pointed here when looking for studies that supported the irrelevance of how calorie intake is portioned throughout the day, and you did not disappoint! I'm also getting a lot of other great info.

My real question on tihs article though is... could you really 'relax' more once you thought you were lean enough? I feel like once I get there it will still be just as much work trying to maintain it (or start adding muscle). Still messing with what kind of foods I'm eating, getting the right surplus now instead of deficit, checking body weight/composition etc. I guess you can be less strict without worrying about 'blowing' the work you did getting lean, but still seems like it will be just as much work, haha.

I just happened to stumble across your system, but I'm having trouble understanding your terminology.

I'm British. I weigh 182lbs, and I am 6 foot 5, I am pretty ripped, people always tell me I look really muscular, But I feel too skinny. I'd just like to put on some weight, but my metabolism is mega fast. So I need to take on more calories, My problem being though, Is I don't have time to eat. Except in the evenings.

Can you explain better to me, how your system works? I like the idea of fasting for 12 plus hours, But will this help me with my fast metabolism, and my already lean, but skinny body? Ha. Or is this system more for people with excess fat, wanting to get lean? Please explain.

This Article is Fantastic, This changes the whole way I am going to look at the situation now.

My goals will be the same, but with more goals, reading - I have a stockpile of books, but I obsess about nutrition and food, and couldnt stick to one plan... Until Now and the past 2 months where I have lost nearly 10 lbs and am reaching 10% bf. (its almost too simple)

This Article is Fantastic, This changes the whole way I am going to look at the situation now.

My goals will be the same, but with more goals, reading - I have a stockpile of books, but I obsess about nutrition and food, and couldnt stick to one plan... Until Now and the past 2 months where I have lost nearly 10 lbs and am reaching 10% bf. (its almost too simple)

Amen to that! I want to get to 8% body fat so I can relax and have a healthy maintenance diet rather than the (at the moment) daily grind of hunger, training hard while hungry and worrying that I'm not losing quick enough...

It's truly an obsession for many, especially for guys who were fat in the past and have bad associations to having excess fat ;)

I took myself from 20% to 8% using the leangains method. And continuing to lean out to 6% and then finally maintain...

I already forgot what 'maintanance' mode is, in fact I never had the feeling of control over my weight. Now leangains gave me the tools and knowledge to have 100% control over my body composition. Everything makes sense, the fasting, the macro counting, the heavy lifting.

Eating huge cheesecakes, low-fat ice-cream and burgers at 6% bf is something I could think about only in my wildest dreams.

>Be honest with yourself: if you're on a diet, you spend a fair amount of time thinking about it. Being perfectly content saves up an astounding amount of mental energy. Gone are the worries, doubts and obsessions about diet, weight and all other issues pertaining to reaching your goal. The itch is gone. No need to scratch it anymore.

>But that void needs to be filled with something. You will suddenly rediscover new interests and hobbies - I did. Don't fill the void with more training*. Fill it with reading, family, friends or whatever you like. Learn to be content once your ultimate goal is reached. Set new goals**, but learn to accept slower, gradual progress.

>* Guys have a tendency to fill the void with more training in order to pack on more muscle once they consider themselves done dieting. If they're not dieting, they're training themselves into the ground. Yes, I used to be that guy a long time ago.

Wise words. I found myself obsessing over adding another 20 pounds of lean mass one day and realized it wasn't going to fix my crappy life. Reconnecting with friends and family and other passions is what I needed. The joys of being healthy and fit are wasted if you never have an endpoint.

Sounds like it makes sense! Just like what I read Rusty Moore say before, that we should get our fitness goals quickly completed and over with ASAP as there is much more to life than just simply training

I just "discovered" this blog and its all very interesting - interesting enough that I am going to give it a go in December this year. I have done IF once or twice a week consistently for a few months and noticed a 2 inch reduction in my "spare tyre" but stopped as it seemed I was getting weaker by not eating enough. Never occurred to me to fast everyday and to still eat the same calories but in a smaller window than usual.

A question for you (or anyone really) what should I expect to see after a month? Apart from the spare tyre I don't carry a lot of fat, I am not a paleo devotee, but for brevity sake that's basically how I eat (minus nuts). Is a month long enough to see an impact on my waist? I have had this spare tyre 12 years and its all that's left of when I was fat 3 years ago - my hips are 35 inches but my waist is 39"/40" and its annoying. Though SS has helped me "cover it up" by getting bigger generally I haven't been able to dent it.

Hello,its just crazy that we've had similar evolution.I too started to train at 16,I did model in my early 20s too.My starting point was much better ive always had my 6pack,but I ve always wanted to get big without sacrificing my leaness.And once I reach 85kg I cant keep it. I dont like to take supplements,I tried the gomad diet with skim milk with fearly good results but I wasnt really satisfied.And yes I hate to be thinking about my diet 24/7.A friend of mind adviced me this diet,cut on grains sugar.I will keep the diary for now and iM going to incorporate the fasting. Most times I dont have breakfast and I think it has been key in mantaining my leanness.Congrats on your phisycal transformation and thank you for opening a new path in nutrition.Starting today